Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) major economies raised the pressure on Iran Saturday, signaling their readiness to tap into emergency oil stockpiles quickly this summer if tougher new sanctions on Tehran threaten to strain supplies. In unusually blunt language, the G8 put the International Energy Agency – the West's energy advisor responsible for coordinating reserves – on standby for action. “Looking ahead to the likelihood of further disruptions in oil sales and the expected increased demand over the coming months, we are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to call upon the International Energy Agency to take appropriate action to ensure that the market is fully and timely supplied,” the G8 said in a communique after a summit at Camp David. “The word ‘likely' signals further disruptions in oil markets don't need to be earth-shattering to potentially prompt action” to tap oil reserves, said Michael Levi, an energy policy fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Speculation has been growing that Obama would use an energy session at the G8 to seek support to tap emergency oil reserves before a European Union embargo of Iranian crude takes effect in July and tough new US sanctions come into force in late June. Exports have already fallen by more than a fifth this year. The meeting also showed that this month's slump in oil prices has not deterred Obama from moving toward tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) again. Michael Froman, a senior White House aide, said although oil prices have been declining in recent weeks, they remain high. He said the G8 was committed to keeping global oil markets well supplied but did not discuss any specific trigger that would prompt action. “Referring to the IEA is a way to talk about the SPR, without talking about the SPR,” said Levi. Britain, France and Japan have all signaled their readiness to press ahead with a release of reserves, according to sources and media reports, although the head of the IEA and the European Union's energy chief have both recently said they see no need to act. Germany too has resisted tapping stockpiles again, after last year's release to make up for Libya's disruption.
